Digitally 2026:CGHC:208 signed by SHAYNA NAFR KADRI HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR WPS No. 7196 of 2023

1 - Ramanuj Lal Verma S/o Jeevrakhan Lal Verma Aged About 42 Years R/o House No. 33 K, Dumardeeh Kala, District : Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh ... Petitioner(s)

versus

1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through The Secretary, Department Of Health And Family Welfare, Mantralaya, Mahanadi Bhawan, Atal Nagar, Naya Raipur, District : Raipur, Chhattisgarh

2 - Director Directorate Health Services Pension Bada, Civil And Revenue, District :

Raipur, Chhattisgarh

3 - Chief Medical And Health Officer Durg, Civil And Revenue, District : Durg, Chhattisgarh

4 - Chief Medical And Health Officer Balod, Civil And Revenue, District : Balod, Chhattisgarh

5 - Chief Medical And Health Officer Bemetara, Civil And Revenue, District :

Bemetara, Chhattisgarh

6 - Chief Medical And Health Officer Korea, Civil And Revenue, District : Koriya (Baikunthpur), Chhattisgarh ... Respondent(s)

(Cause-title is taken from Case Information System)

For Petitioner : Mr. Navoday Singh, Advocate appearing on behalf of Mr. R. K. Kashyap, Advocate For State : Mr. Arpit Agrawal, Panel Lawyer SB- Hon'ble Shri Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad

Order on Board

02/01/2026

1. The petitioner has filed this writ petition seeking following reliefs :-

“(i) That, this Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to set aside the impugned order dated 05/01/2023 (Annexure P-1), in the interest of justice.

(ii) That, this Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to direct the authorities to consider the case of the petitioner for appointment on the post of MPHW (M), in the interest of justice OR IN THE ALTERNATIVE This Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to direct the authorities to pay compensation to the petitioner to the tune of Rs. 25,00,000/- (In Words – Rupees Twenty Five Lakhs) in lieu of appointment.

(iii) Any other relief which may be suitable in the facts and circumstances of the case, may also be granted.”

2. Facts of the case, in a nutshell, are that in the year 2012, the Chief Medical and Health Officers of various districts in the State of Chhattisgarh, including District Durg, issued advertisements inviting applications for appointment to the post of Multipurpose Health Worker (Male) [MPHW (M)], prescribing, inter alia, Class 10^th qualification, one- year MPHW training from a State-recognized institute and registration with the Chhattisgarh Paramedical Council. Being duly qualified, the petitioner applied for the said post from District Durg and was included in the select list issued by the Chief Medical and Health Officer, Durg, at Serial No. 39; however, no appointment order was issued. The selection process was thereafter subjected to extensive litigation, including WPS (S) No. 666/2012 and several connected writ petitions, wherein the eligibility criteria prescribed in the advertisements and the equivalence of paramedical training with MPHW (M) training were challenged. Although this Court initially declined to draw equivalence between MPHW (M) and paramedical qualifications, during pendency of the litigation, the Commissioner, Health Services, Raipur, issued a clarification dated 31.08.2013 declaring one-year paramedical training as equivalent to one-year MPHW training. Subsequent writ appeals, including WA No. 530/2013 and WA No. 109/2015, were disposed of by the Division Bench granting liberty to the petitioners to submit representations in light of the policy decision taken by the State Government. In compliance thereof, the petitioner and similarly situated candidates submitted repeated representations between 2014 and 2019, pursuant to which the Department of Health and Family Welfare initiated correspondence and internal deliberations. Notably, the Secretary of the Department, by a note dated 05.10.2018, recommended consideration of the petitioners for appointment with one-time age relaxation, which was approved by the concerned Minister on 13.10.2018. Despite the lapse of several years and r